This congregation dates to the 1830 and the present church building, dedicated in 1952, is quite formal in contrast to many of the Primitive Baptist meeting houses. I’m most accustomed to their truly primitive architecture in South Georgia, and while I’ve seen other formal examples, this Colonial Revival version is one of the nicest. Like many Primitive Baptist churches, the architecture is asymmetrical.
Jan Winter writes: From the history brochure I have, it states that Enon Primitive Baptist Church was constituted June 19, 1830 with the original name being Bethlehem. The name was changed to Enon in July 1831. The original Meeting House was at Jones Mill. On November 22, 1834 the church appointed a building committee to build a new meeting house there. My Great Grandfather, Baker Mann, was on the building committee. After over fifty years at Jones Mill, in 1882 the building was sold, property purchased in Gay, and a new meeting house was built on the present site. My Great Great Grandfather, Maltire Thrash was on this building committee. No photos exist; however it was described as a barnlike structure with only wooden shutters to keep out rain and wind. The congregation sat on long wooden benches which had only one rail for a back rest. This building underwent very little change until it was replaced in 1951 by the new meeting house in the photograph above. From everything I’ve read in the brochure, it appears to me that Enon was an Old Line Primitive Baptist Church. There is much more in the brochure, but I will end here. One footnote – Elder Samuel H. Whatley, mentioned in another post by Matt Bell, was pastor at Enon from 1919 – 1923.
The Odessadale Methodist Church was organized in the local school house in 1897. Miss Odessa Thompson, a Baptist, gave the congregation an acre-and-a-half of land. A Sunday School was established in 1901 or 1902 and this church built soon thereafter.
In 1880, J. M. Brooks, Mrs. Isabella Brooks, and R. S. Bowden gave two acres of land adjacent to Cain Creek for the purpose of “divine worship” by all denominations in the community. It was to be known as Union Hill. Services were held in a brush arbor here until 1883, when the Baptists dispersed to their own congregations, leaving the Methodists to build this church.
This is now known as Durand Trinity Church due to recent doctrinal differences within the United Methodist sect. Truly one of the most beautiful churches in the area, Trinity has a rich history in Meriwether County. From the historic marker placed by the United Methodist Church: In 1854, Harmony Church near the Ogletree cemetery, Liberty Church close by the old Campbell place, and Providence Church from the Strickland neighborhood, all came together, after twenty-two years of sharing camp meeting worship, to form Trinity Church, believing that “in union there was strength”. The first church building was constructed in 1854, in what was known as the Stinson community, at the intersection of what are now Harry Hardy Road and Winter Road. Reverend Leonard Rush is thought to be the first pastor appointed by the conference, and Mark Crowder was the first Sunday school superintendent. For fifty-four years, Trinity worship services were held in that sanctuary.
That original church building was completely destroyed by a cyclone in April 1908. Services were held in a tent until a new building is completed on the very spot where it stands today; a dedication service was held in 1910. Even though the cost of the new structure was $4,733, that price included a piano and furnishings. Some time between the original formation of Trinity in the building of the current sanctuary, the name of the town had changed from Stinson to Durand. The church’s present sanctuary is located on the site of the antebellum home of Dr. James Winslow Stinson. While digging the foundation for our new addition in 2004, and old, filled in well was discovered. It is possible that, around the turn of the last century, Dr. Stinson drew water from that old well.
In 1954, forward thinking church members decided there was a need for an addition to the church. The current parlor, with a kitchen and dining area in the basement underneath, was completed and has been enjoyed since that time. A complete renovation of the sanctuary, including restoring the beautiful woodwork and pews to the original splendor, was completed in 1978. The stained glass windows on the north side of the church were destroyed by a hailstorm on July 23, 1984. New windows, matching the old ones, were created and installed; glass that was salvaged from the broken sanctuary windows was used to make the two smaller windows currently located in the church vestibules.
The last renovation of the sanctuary was completed in 2003 and included new carpeting and wall coverings. A new sanctuary piano, given in memory of Gladys Crowder, and new chandeliers, given in memory of Henry S Crowder, Jr., are some of the latest additions to this historic and most beautiful building often called the “Little White Church on the Hill.”
In 2004, one hundred and fifty years after the formation of Trinity United Methodist Church, an increase in membership made a need for more space even more apparent. A new, larger fellowship hall and a more serviceable kitchen were constructed to the north of the sanctuary. This addition was completed in time for the 2004 sesquicentennial celebration under the capable leadership of Board Chairman Jeff Cain, Building Committee Chair Glenn Crowder, and Building Supervisor Henry C. (Penny) Mitcham, Jr.
Trinity United Methodist Church is still going strong. Many descendants of the original church founders and many new Trinity families worship here are each Sunday, rooted in a rich heritage of faith in Christ and growing toward a strong future.
Update: As of 2023, I believe the church is no longer associated with the United Methodists.
This historic congregation was formed by Reverend Edward Lanier and Reverend Jesse Sratton on 27 March 1829. The Presbyterians of Greenville were granted a lot in town for the building of a house of worship but sold it and built this one-room church a few miles from town in 1836, preferring a rural setting. Though it never boasted a large congregation, Greenville Presbyterian was quite active in the community. Dwindling membership and a newer church in Greenville, Stacy Presbyterian, led to the closure of the church in 1963 but it reopened in 1972. A small but determined congregation still holds services here. Greenville Presbyterian is significant as one of just a few antebellum Presbyterian churches in Georgia.
The cemetery is one of the most historic in the area. Perhaps the most fascinating interment is John Gaston, who was famously known as “The Giant”, for his 7’6″, 340-pound stature at a time when the average height was about 5’7″. Gaston was born in Chester County, South Carolina in 1821 and died in Woodbury in 1866. His slab has been damaged over the years, and a smaller adjacent slab corrects previous statistics, which stated his height as 7′ and his weight at 430 pounds.
From the historic marker placed in 1957 by the Georgia Historical Commission: When a new building was completed in 1939, the name of this church, established in 1844 as Prospect Methodist Church, was changed to Allen-Lee Memorial Methodist Church to honor two of its illustrious members, Dr. Young J. Allen and Dr. J. W. Lee. Dr. Young John Allen, born in Burke County, Jan. 3, 1836, was reared by an aunt, Nancy (Wooten) Hutchins, near Lone Oak. In 1851, during a sermon by Rev. John W. Yarbrough, first pastor at old Prospect, Dr. Allen was so deeply convicted of sin and the need for salvation that he jumped from the window and fled into the woods. Returning to the church, he was converted and, in 1859, sailed to China as a missionary and teacher. Bishop Warren A. Candler, in his book, “Young John Allen – The Man Who Seeded China”, said: “His great work opened the way for the Gospel in China and made easier the task of every missionary in that vast Empire”. Dr. Allen died in 1907. Dr. James Wideman Lee, native of Lone Oak, was outstanding in the North Georgia Methodist Conference. He later became a renowned minister in a leading church in St. Louis, Mo., and was influential in founding the Barnes Hospital there. His uncle, William Owen Lee, gave the land for this church.
